Ball-cap #3

Double-header Tuesday!

I am exhausted but it was such a great evening. You guys, I feel like I'm getting better! I am feeling a bit more confident. I am catching, hitting, and talking like I know what I'm saying.

Ok, first game. This team was GOOD. We were neck-and-neck most of the time. My two highlights of the game were:

1) I hit a line-drive (see, don't I sound official?) down center field and got to first base. Can I just say I am absolutely addicted to the feeling I get when my bat makes contact with the ball?! It is electrifying. It feels so amazing. And then other teammates hit really well and brought me home so I got to score for my team. Another great feeling. To score for your team as they cheer you on.

2) I was catching in our last inning, we were tied, and we couldn't let them score (or they'd win) and someone in the outfield threw the ball right to my glove JUST as someone tried to run home. I caught it! Whoosh! I was so happy and shocked that I caught it, I did a little dance of joy. What I didn't realize is that the game doesn't stop just because the catcher caught the ball. So during my spastic dance number, two other runners got to their next base. Whoops. But let's just focus on the fact that my glove caught the ball. Yeah.

We were tied after 7 innings (that's all you play in softball) so we went to an extra inning and sadly we lost 11-13. It was a good, close game.

And then the next team was there so we just jumped right into our second game. Oh man, that team was baaaaaad. Like, really bad. For the first 5 innings we were winning 19-0. I think it helped that we were all warmed up and on fire from already playing a game, but still.

A couple things to note from this game.

* I pretended to be Peter (Banning) Pan from the movie "Hook". The scene where he's pretending to be a pirate so he can watch his son Jack play baseball near Captain Hook. Whenever someone on my team swung and missed, I'd close one eye and out of the corner of my mouth say, "Wait for the good pitches!" in a pirate voice. (Sometimes followed by "Run Home Jack!")

* A girl from the other team got hit (hard!) in the side by a ball as she ran to her next base. I don't remember much of internal organs, but it probably hit her in the kidney. It looked painful. Suddenly my left calf bruise didn't seem like such a big deal. This sport is dangerous.

* In one inning while catching, the pitcher threw a great strike at me. I picked it up and yelled "Hey, Jeff! Good serve!" Um, I forget. What sport are we playing? Not tennis?

We won our second game 24-5.

P.S. - This has nothing to do with softball, but it's worth noting: Afterwards we went to Chili's for celebratory chocolate milkshakes. You know which ones I'm talking about, right? So thick you can't even drink them with a straw? And covered with chocolate sprinkles? That sounded so ridiculously good after playing softball for 2 and a half hours. To say I was looking forward to it was an understatement.

We got there and the waiter informed me that Chili's does not serve milkshakes anymore. I looked at him and said, "You're kidding, right?" He assured me he wasn't. They stopped serving them three months ago.

I didn't know how to respond.

I had my heart set on one.

When I realized I wouldn't be drinking one that night, I started getting teary.

Something is seriously wrong with me.

R.I.P.